See Jilly Jack Designs debut offering at surtex 2012, May 20-22. We are proud to be represented by A Fresh Bunch in booth 444. Stop by and see our work as well as fellow AFB member's work. You won't be disappointed!

My Creative Influences

Here is a fun exercise, list who your creative influences are and see if it helps you get in touch with your own aesthetic. What is it that helps mold you as an artist? I feel it's all your favorite artists and designers, each impacting your art in a different, yet profound way, that help to shape the artist you become. I've linked each artist to a page describing their work, so that you can get a better idea of where my design sense is coming from. They are listed in no certain order.


1. Paul Rand, a corporate identity genius. Take a look at his portfolio and you'll see what I'm talking about.

2. Saul Bass, brought graphic design to moving pictures, by way of title sequences.

3. Paula Scher, amazing woman in the graphic design industry, a definite roll model for women in the biz.

4. Miro, I enjoy his use of color and the playful quality of his work

5. Eva Zeisel, she is amazing, born in 1906 and still designing.

6. Frank Gehry, his organic architecture is either loved or hated, I love it.

7. Charles and Ray Eames, their sense of design and form were amazing.

8. Maurice Sendak, I loved his books and his illustrations made me want to draw.

9. Vasily Kandinsky, was a pioneer of abstract art and eminent aesthetic theorist

10. Paul Klee, his abstract style, use of color, texture and line are what I connect with


This was really fun, like a trip down memory lane from childhood on up through my career. I'd love to see who influences you in your work! Feel free to share.

Jilly Jack Design Sparkle Card

In honor of blue week, I though I'd share one of our cards from our Light Series. These note cards all feature some sort of light source and convey a message of encouragement, like sparkle. You can view our cards at our site www.jillyjackdesignsllc.com and you can purchase sets at our retail site here. The set includes 10 cards (2 each of 5 designs) with 10 envelopes which are printed on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper that is FSC certified. The set is contained in a folio made from recycled billboard wraps.

Letterpress Video

Letterpress Coasters from Quarter Productions on Vimeo.

Okay, I'm a sucker for anything to do with letterpress printing and thought I'd share this video with you. It shows the process of making letterpress printed coasters. Not only is the subject matter cool, but so is the way the video is shot as well as the music.

I'll let you all in on a little secret as well. I just bought my first letterpress printer. It's huge and I'm still perfecting it, but I love it!

Enjoy!

A letter from me

Dear Readers,

First of all, thank you so much for all your support over the
last year.

I just wanted to share a little more about myself and where I'm coming from and why this blog is important to me.

Ever since I was little, I’ve always loved to draw and doodle.
I was always excited in elementary school when one of my “masterpieces” ;–) was selected for art object of the week and was hung in the hallway outside of the principal’s office. I continued in my art focus through college and my career as a graphic designer to ultimately owning my own eco-friendly stationery design and manufacturing business, Jilly Jack Designs.

My stationery reflects my sense of color and design aesthetic. I love bright happy, clean colors and simple shapes. I chose to go into the stationery business because of my love for graphic design and paper plus I’ve always loved writing letters and receiving them. You know that feeling you had as a child when you got something in the mail? That is the feeling I want to keep alive for the next generation. My son Jack loves to get mail. He’s always sad when we get cards in the mail and he doesn't.

In this blog I plan to share more about my stationery business and how it is growing and evolving, as well as my creative process, maybe that will spark your creativity as well. I’ll also be showcasing people, places and things that I find inspiring or just really
like or want.

I welcome all of your comments. Please feel free to share what inspires you. I'd love to hear it!

Here’s to 2010, let’s make it a year full of wonderment and creativity!

–Jill

Inspired by Sweets

Often people ask me how I come up with the ideas for my cards. And actually my artwork comes from everyday things. I like to depict them in bright, fun, simple designs. My work is very straight forward and to the point. Which is very much like my personality. Friendly, approachable and uncomplicated. When I brainstorm, I like to think about things either current or in the past that were enjoyable and that everyone can relate to. This is where the Sweet series of cards came from. They are the sweets that we loved as children, cupcakes, cake, ice cream cones, popsicles and lollipops created with simple shapes and bright colors with fun sayings from the past.

All images ©Jilly Jack Designs

Charlie Harper

Charley Harper (August 4, 1922-June 10, 2007) was a Cincinnati-based American Modernist artist. He was best known for his highly stylized wildlife prints, posters and book illustrations.

In a style he called “minimal realism”, Charley Harper captures the essence of his subjects with the fewest possible visual elements. See more of his artwork here.



Designer Todd Oldham produced a book of Charlie Harper's illustrations call Illustrated Life. This book is on my list of must haves, see it here.

All images copyright 2009 Estate of Charley Harper

Featured Font

An oldie, but a goodie, Century Schoolbook is one of my favorite serif fonts. Sorry, but I'm a bit of a graphic design and typography geek. I love the uppercase and lowercase Qs. You don't get to use them very much. This font has the perfect balance of thick and thin and hard and soft contrast. It's a great all around, easy-to-read font. Read more about the font here.